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Old 02-21-2016, 06:47 PM   #11
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glad you made it home... standing by for the diagnosis

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Old 02-21-2016, 09:59 PM   #12
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Glad you were able to get the top down. What you expericed is what I fear the most with my smb! Please keep us updated.
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Old 03-06-2016, 10:42 PM   #13
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To close the loop on this"..........it was the switch. I spoke to Peter at Sportsmobile. He said he was only of aware of this happening one other time but took the time to send me a new fuse and a new switch. I plugged in the new switch and the top went right to work!
A big thank you to all at Sportsmobile!
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Old 03-07-2016, 07:38 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BusTalker View Post
To close the loop on this"..........it was the switch. I spoke to Peter at Sportsmobile. He said he was only of aware of this happening one other time but took the time to send me a new fuse and a new switch. I plugged in the new switch and the top went right to work!
A big thank you to all at Sportsmobile!
I may have missed it, but where was the fuse located? How or could this have been fixed if you were out in the wild? I'm glad it was a simple fix!!
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Old 03-07-2016, 10:12 AM   #15
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Bypassing a switch is no big deal but not knowing where the fuse is could be an issue. Over the years SMB has built to a variety of specs. The fuse holder can be in different places on different conversions. Common sense says the fuse should be at the source and/or as close to the lift motor so I kinda thought it would be under the carpet. I'll also have to check out if it's behind the switch like Jack's.

If need be I could cut into the lift motors leads to power it manually. My big fear is the track having issues or the motor going out while the top is out of the fully down position.
I'm glad to hear pulling the pins and lowing a heavy top wasn't a problem for you.
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Old 03-07-2016, 11:26 AM   #16
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The problem itself was a simple fix (a minute to replace the switch) but diagnosing, tearing apart the top and putting it back together was not. It took two grown men to pull the pins on the actuators and pull out the bolts in the "scissor". It also took two grown men and a jack from a manual top Sportsmobile to reassemble it. (My next door neighbor also has a Sportsmobile. What are the odds? )
The bottom line is we would have been screwed if this would have happened in the wild and not a ski resort parking lot less than an hour away from home.
I am sure you could have hot wired by the switch but you would need to know which leads to cross. Sportsmobile told me the fuse is in line with the switch behind the wall along the door pillar. I never saw it because it was to far down behind the wall. They also told me the fuse is placed in no set distance from the switch. Every unit is different. Also, the fuse is an odd type I have never seen before. I will post the specs if I get a chance.
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Old 03-07-2016, 12:04 PM   #17
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Yeah or pictures. I'd like to devise a way to lower the top with a hi-lift jack. A field fix is just to get the thing down more so than repairing it.
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Old 03-17-2016, 08:31 AM   #18
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Any tips or conclusion on having an emergency plan/kit available for a failed electric lift top? I am thinking that some sort of telescopic post to be placed at the (4) corners of the top when raised would help and could be shimmed as needed to take the load off the top in the event it was necessary to manually lower a top due to power outage, mechanical problem.
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Old 05-09-2016, 11:30 AM   #19
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That (telescopic posts) is probably as good as anything. It's a matter of if you want to carry the extra gear. my advice to anyone is make sure you have a well stocked tool kit onboard your unit. We did not at the time (rookies!) but have brought tools going forward. My guess is 99% of Sportsmobile owners carry the necessary tools to drop the top in an emergency situation but it would be tough if you were solo due to the weight.
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Old 05-15-2016, 01:52 PM   #20
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Relatively easy option

Saw this late, but after a bit of messing around with electric top issues, I accessed the switch and measured it to verify wiring. The fuse is supposed to be either near the switch or behind the drivers seat belt wall panel which is a pain in the *** to access. All switches should be wired similarly, but you should measure your switch. They should all be wired with the middle contacts ground (W in my case) on one side, 12v (R in my case) on the other. Then the Up wires are split using lamp wire near the switch connection as are the down voltage runs. I think its safe to assume each leg of the lamp wire goes to each motor. It would be much easier to jump the switch wires, and very much easier to test for voltage at the switch. I had an odd Blue pigtail wire female plug I could see from the back side (Up voltage). So if you couldn't lower (or raise) your top, best would be to access the switch connections, preferably test with a voltmeter, pick a corner pin (top?) and apply 12v to one side, and Gnd to the adjacent side. The motors would go up or down. I am also guessing the motors are body grounded, but my ground white wire could go back to the motors. Anyway this picture/schematic/cartoon combination should be helpful. The lamp cord split in the wires off the top is shown in the cartoon. The reason for the split runs is the Linak LA31 actuators each draw ~7A under load. The actuators reverse with reverse polarity. Someone mentioned using an electric drill battery (assuming 12-14v), but a jumper wire with maybe a 20+A fuse in line could do nicely.
Mechanically lowering the top looks to be very difficult as it is pretty loaded and constrained.....Congrats to the OP for their success.
Cheers
Attached Thumbnails
Sw Wiring 2.jpg   Sw Schematic 2.jpg   Drv Ram Pin Coming out.jpg  
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